Short Schrift: December 2019 Kislev - Tevet 5780Page 1

HAPPY HANUKKAHTBH BOARDPRESIDENTTikva Glantztikvatbh@gmail.com

VICE PRESIDENTAllyson BrooksTREASURERGary SchneiderSECRETARYDavid Hanig

MEMBERS AT LARGEEd AdelsonMichael BlumMarilyn GisserMelinda HolmanLaura Hurtado-WebbSpencer OrmanRebekah Zinn

CONTACT US(360) 754-8519tbh@bethhatfiloh.orgwww.bethhatfiloh.org201 8th Ave. SEOlympia WA 98501

Rabbi Seth Goldsteinrabbi@bethhatfiloh.org

Director of Family Life and LearningCatherine Carmelbeitsefer@bethhatfiloh.org

CommunityEngagementCoordinatorKayla Iversontbh@bethhatfiloh.org

DECEMBER 2019 KISLEV - TEVET 5780The Short Schrift

As we face the end of a year and a decade I am amazed at the passage of time. How does this keep happening?!? Here at TBH, we are filling the last month of 2019 with wonderful activities and events, as evidenced in these pages.

Hanukkah AppealYou may have already received our annual Hanukkah Appeal letter. This year, we hope to raise $10,000. We have reached out, not only to TBH members, but to our supporters and friends as well. In general, I am not comfortable fundraising. But, when it comes to TBH, it’s a lot easier. We are responsible stewards of your generous donations! And it is through your generosity that we remain a vibrant and active congregational community.

Our fundraising efforts are now guided by our newly formed Development Team. The mission of this Team, led by Board Member Ed Adelson, is to… “articulate and execute coordinated short-term and longer-term TBH fundraising strategies that integrate annual giving, major giving, and legacy and bequest contributions”. This Team has long been needed, and we are fortunate that these folks stepped forward to serve: Brian Boyd, Da-vid Hanig, Michele Horaney and Charles Shelan.

Prospective Member BrunchOn Sunday, November 10, twelve prospective members and nine TBH members had a wonderful time schmoozing, eating and decorating Tzedakah boxes. We talked about our connections to Judaism and TBH. By the end of the meeting, 2 households submitted membership applications!

We Continue to GrowIn the last two months, 16 new member households joined TBH! Let’s all make sure to approach folks we don’t know yet and help them feel welcome.

High Holiday FeedbackYour Board conducted an informal survey to gain feedback on your High Holiday expe-rience. Overall, the 40 responses indicate that there was a high level of satisfaction. Here is a link to the comments we received, organized by general topic (Thank you, David Hanig!). If you didn’t receive an invitation to participate in this feedback, and have ideas to share, please send them to me at tikvatbh@gmail.com

Happy Hanukkah,

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Annual Campaign: Help Us Reach Our Goal!

Because TBH is your community, we are reaching out to you to ask for your support this Hanukkah season. Our annual Hanuk-kah appeal comes at a time when TBH has never been stronger or more vibrant: Our nearly 200 member families are a commu-nity engaged in making a difference in the quality of Jewish life in our region. While annual pledges constitute the majority of TBH’s income, they do not fully cover the costs of our many programs, activ-ities and initiatives that you have come to count on and that make our Congregation such a beacon of light for our commu-nity.

We have set the goal of $10,000 this Hanukkah Season, from now until the last day of Hanukkah. Watch out for the thermom-eter in our weekly email to track our progress. You can leave a donation next time you are at TBH, or at bethhatfiloh.org/donate.

THANK YOU for your support of your Congregation! TBH’s legacy as the center of Jewish life in the South Sound is strong because of you!

A Celebration of Klezmer and Yiddish MusicSaturday, December 7

7pm, $15 Donation

Brivele is a Seattle-based anti-fascist klezmer folk-punk trio who braid together oral history, Yiddish language, contemporary and old-country musical genres, American Vaudeville, and visu-al arts. The trio is Maia Brown (vocals + banjo), Hannah Ham-avid (vocals + violin + ukulele), and Stefanie Brendler (vocals + accordion). We are Brivele -- a little letter for you -- and we bring you love letters, letters about home, and letters fomenting revolution!

With:

Marit Olivia (of Portland) and Mae Kessler (of Olympia) have been performing throughout the Northwest and internationally in punk, metal, and folk groups for over a decade. Varda is an expression of our love of Eastern European Jewish music and traditional Scandinavian tunes.

Help TBH stay a beacon of light!

DONATE at bethhatfiloh.org/donate

VARDA

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December Erev Shabbat Services

December 6 Choir Shabbat7:30 pm There will be an oneg after the service hosted by Ashley Boyer.

December 13 Shabbat Salon 6:00 pm Catered meal and speaker after the service. Please RSVP for the dinner. Details below.

Decmber 20 Family Service/Experience 6:00 pm Shabbat Family Shabbat service at 6 followed by semi-catered dinner by Nineveh. Bring a side dish or dessert if you can. We will break into groups to engage in an activity based on the Torah portion of the week.

December 27 Shabbat Service 7:30 pm There will be an oneg following the service hosted by the friends and family of Erez Goldstein.

December Shabbat Day Services

1st SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7Tot Shabbat at 9:30 am - All kids ages 0-6 and their grown ups and families are invited to celebrate Shabbat together with song, story, move-ment, prayer and craft! Awakened Heart Shabbat at 10:30 am - (More information on pg 5)

2nd SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14Torah Study at 10:00 am - Prayer and study are equally holy activ-ities--we will sit around a table, share a Shabbat brunch, and study the Torah together. Food is provided, and all are invited to join in these highly participatory discussions. No experience necessary!

3rd SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21Mussar at 9:30 am - Mussar is the Jewish school of thought which seeks to root personal character development and right behavior in Jewish tradition and text. We will gather to learn more about this tradition and how it may benefit our lives. Talmud Study at 10:30 am - Please note the date/time change due to the Bar Mitzvah. The Talmud is an ancient compendium of Jewish law and lore, and provides the basis upon which biblical interpretation and contemporary Jewish practice rests. We will dive deep into this text--no background required.

4th SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28Bar Mitzvah & Service at 10:00 am - (More information below)

Bar MitzvahErez Goldstein

Saturday, December 28 at 10:00 am

Erez Goldstein will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Shabbat Miketz, Saturday, December 28. Erez is the son of Rabbi Seth Goldstein and Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg. He is in the 7th grade at Reeves Middle School, where his favorite subject is math. He likes to draw, play ukulele, and play video games with his friends. Erez also loves animals, and shares a home with two dogs, six cats and a turtle. His mitzvah project is focused on protecting our waterways and salmon. Family and friends will be coming from Portland, Boise, DC, Chica-go, Seattle and other places to celebrate.

Shabbat Salon: An Evening ofOpen Hearts, Hands, and Minds

Friday, December 13 at 6:00 pm

Join us for Shabbat Salon! Our speaker is Susan Strasser. Susan is a Professor Emerita at University of Delaware and will be presenting “A White Historian Reads Black History.”

We begin with a full Shabbat service at 6:00 pm fol-lowed by a catered dinner and speaker in the Social Hall at 7:00 pm. RSVP is required for the dinner only.

Registration is open. Sign up and pay online!

DECEMBER EVENTSDybbuk Casting & AuditionsSunday, December 1, 3:00 pmSee more information on page 5.

Senior SchmoozeTuesday, December 3, 12:00 pmBring your brown bag lunch and your jokes! Kay McKenzie will be the dessert host, and Betty Goldstein, Daniel Far-ber, and Mike Zagorin will present on Jordan.

Yiddish & Klezmer MusicSaturday, December 7, 7:00 pmSee page 2 for additional information.

Sanctuary On-the-Spot TrainingSunday, December 8, 2:30 pmThis is the second of two trainings required to be a sanctuary volunteer. Please RSVP to volunteercoord200@gmail.com to help us plan for materials and assist with our guests' safety.

FORKids Food PackingTuesday, December 10, 3:30 pmThurston County Food Bank2260 Mottman Road SW, TumwaterSee more information on page 5.

Green Team MeetingTuesday, December 17, 5:30 pmWe now have a list of green cleaning products for TBH: Planet, Seventh Generation, Ecover, Ecos, and Dr. Bron-ner’s. We will try purchasing the product for each need, replacing the current products with the new ones, and asking for feedback on function.

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Green Team Meeting Cont.We are also looking to increase the insulation in the organ loft and flat areas of the sanctuary. And, we had a very informative presentation by Matt Booth and Mason Rolph of Olympia Commu-nity Solar about this exciting possibility for TBH. If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback, please let us know at tbh@bethhatfiloh.org. Everyone is welcome to our next meeting.

Book GroupTuesday, December 17, 7:00 pmFalling Out of Time by David Gross-man is an incandescent tale of parental grief, a powerful distillation of the expe-rience of understanding and acceptance and of art's triumph over death.

Board MeetingWednesday, December 18, 6:00 pmBoard meetings are open to all TBH members.

The DybbukTuesday, December 24, 6:00 pmSee more information on page 5.

Annual Hanukkah PartyThursday, December 26, 6:00 pmJoin us for our annual communitymenorah lighting with latkes, games, crafts and more! This is a familyfriendly event. All are welcome toattend! Remember to bring yourmenorah and candles to light and a dairy/parve dish to share if you are able.We are looking for clean up volunteers. Contact beitsefer@bethhatfiloh.org to let us know you can help.

Movie Night: Nora's WillSaturday, January 5 at 7:00 pmDespite their divorce, José & Nora nev-er stopped caring for one another. Set among Mexico City's Jewish commu-nity, this comedy focuses on complica-tions involved with organizing a memo-rial during Passover, and the unexpected contents of Nora's will.

Cooking Class: StrudelSunday, January 5 at 3:00 pmEdie Bean, our beloved culinary maven and the namesake of our kitchen, has generously volunteered to teach a stru-del-making class See more information on the event page.

Senior SchmoozeTuesday, January 7 at 12:00 pm

Shabbat SalonFriday, January 10 at 6:00 pmJoin us for our Shabbat Salon. January will feature Khurshida Begem, who will be presenting on the topic of human trafficking.

Listening Circles: United to End Anti-SemitismSunday, January 12 at 2:00 pmMore information coming soon!

Book ClubTuesday, January 21 at 7:00 pmInheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro is a book oabout secrets--secrets within families, kept out of shame or self-pro-tectiveness; secrets we keep from one another in the name of love.

JANUARYEVENTSPREVIEW

Olympia Sisterhood MeetingTuesday, December 5The Olympia Sisterhood annual Hanukkah bash will take place on the 5th. We'll be collecting gifts for local Jewish children and families. if you enjoy latkes and root beer floats, contact Naomi Obie for more information: naomiobie@gmail.com.

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FORKids UpdatePretty much at the last minute this past month, we were informed that there would be no bagging of food for the ForKids Program at the Thurston County Food Bank in November. Hopefully, no one showed up as we were only able to get you the word via email. We will be again filling bags the second Tuesday of December, December 10, 2019, at 3:30 p.m. at the Tumwater Food Bank. Hopefully, we will have a sizable group again. Please bring your friends, your children and grand-children to assist if you wish. It is a very nice group of people that you will be volunteering with. Happy Holidays to everyone. If there are any questions, please email Elie at ehalpern7379@gmail.com or give him a call at 360-357-8160.

Be a part of TBH's production of The Dybbuk, a classic Yiddish ghost story about a possessed bride, written in 1914 by S. Ansky. We will per-form a staged reading on the evening of December 24, the third night of Chanukah (also known to some as Erev Christmas).

Actors and organizers will meet every Sunday in December from 3-7 at the temple. Come join the fun! We need actors, prop-makers and and costumers, musicians, temple tenders, and more!

Dec 1 - Casting/Auditions Dec 8 - Staging Act 1Dec 15 - Staging Act 2 Dec 22 - Staging Acts 3 & 4

Dec 24 - First and only full run through / Performance!!!

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1036678200016924/

Email nomylamm@gmail.com for more info, or for a copy of the script. Please come fragrance-free, for the safety of the members of our commu-nity who are chemically injured or scent-sensitive. For more info about being scent-free:https://eastbaymeditation.org/resources/fragrance-free-at-ebmc/

Awakened Heart ShabbatThis month’s Awakened Heart Shabbat is Saturday, December 7, at 10:30. Join us as we gather to share food, music, stories and teachings to feed our hearts and spirits, and to explore the mystical connections in our Jewish traditions. This time David Hanig will lead some singing and share some of his original poems, which are sure to inspire. Nancy will bring a story or two. We’ll also explore the V’Ahavta, the part of the Sh’ma that tells us to love God and keep God’s words in our hearts. What could this mean, and how do we go down that path in a personally authentic way? Whatever your conception (or absence of concep-tion) of the Divine, you can join us as we delve into some of Rabbi Shefa Gold’s ideas for bringing us closer to our source. Bring something for the potluck brunch if you are able. Ques-tions? Contact Nancy at nancy_snyder@comcast.net

“You that cleave to YHVH your God are alive, all of you, today.” — Deut. 4:4These words from the book of Deuteronomy speak to me about my three passions: for life, for wholeness and connection, and for the ability to be present in this moment. For life, for the vitality that comes when I am connected to my source and can let that foun-tain fill me to overflowing. For wholeness and connection, for the integration of all the separate parts that make up the “I” who I’m becoming, and for the realization of my interrelatedness with all of God’s creatures. For the ability to be present in this moment, for freedom from the compulsive mental wanderings that prevent me from experiencing the fullness of “today.”Rabbi Shefa Gold Article: “Cleaving to God: A Jewish Way of Prayer” http://evolve.reconstructingjudaism.org/cleaving-to-god

Chesed UpdatesWinter months are upon us, and with them come colds and flu. If you or someone in our community is ill or just needs some TLC, please stop by and pick up some of our delicious vegetarian soup. This will lift your spirits and heal your body. We can also do delivery on request.

Winter is here! We are doing our annual warm clothing drive during the month of December. Please donate gently used clothing to be taken the St. Michaels clothing bank. There are collection boxes located in the front foyer.

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FROM CATHERINE CARMEL:FAMILY LIFE AND LEARNING DIRECTOR

Family is a word with multifaceted meanings. By definition, a family includes children and adults living in a single household. Rather than simply defining family by a dictio-nary definition though, each indi-vidual can define a family by their

own standards. Families differ in many ways, but what every family has in common is that the people who call it a family are making clear that those people are im-portant in some way to the people calling them family. I am defining family for the purpose of Family Shabbat Experiences as anyone who chooses to come and partic-ipate. You are family, and by extension, important to us. Not part of Beit Sefer? I’m okay with that. Don’t have kids at home? (Neither do I.) I’m okay with that too. All I ask is that you choose to come celebrate being Jewish with us. Our Shabbat services are short because kids get hungry. Dinner is catered, but still casual. We have a brief Shabbat learning period led by our Beit Sefer teachers and Rabbi Seth. Each learning option is geared towards an age group, but we are all learning at the same time. We end the evening sharing dessert and more prayers. Shabbat is a wonderful time to celebrate family, whether your own at home or with us in a broader sense of family. Our next Family Shabbat Experience is December 20th at 6pm. It’s free, but register so we have enough food for all. However you define family, in our Beit Sefer family, all are welcome. I hope to see you here.

L’hitraot,

Here is some information from Reyna Jasmer, our Anafim (3 & 4 grade) teacher:

We are in the middle of our G'milut Chasadim strand studying peacemakers: how we can be peacemakers with our friends and in our homes. The students are finding lots of ways they can solve problems. Class learned a bit amounts one of Judaism's greatest peacemakers, Aaron. A very interesting question came up that some are still struggling with. Is it okay to tell white lies, like Aaron did, to bring peace between two people? We are having fun with Hebrew, using movements to learn simple action verbs, flash card wars to practice the alef-bet, as well as some more traditional tasks. Before snack, we are learn-ing brachot for different foods beyond bread and we try to end class with a Jewish read aloud.

According to class:

My favorite part of class is......drawing....getting honey sticks for Hebrew practice...art...that we give tzedakeh...that there is a tzedakeh box...Hebrew flash cards What I want everyone to know about our classroom is......that we are an only girls class except for one madrichim...that the teacher is nice ...that we give tzedakeh...there is one boy ...that we are a very kind and caring class

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Grounds Keeping: Rob Carmel, James Dolliver, Spencer Orman, Kay McKenzieOneg Hosts: Gail PollockGreeters: Tikva Glantz, Melinda Holman, Marilyn GisserSalon: Jill Dole, Tikva Glantz, Anaya Balter, Lori Kishimoto, Gidon Bach and others!Women of the Wall: Patricia Barr, Karen Greene, Cindy Levy, Sam Schrager, Brad Smith, Laura Schrager, Beth & Elie Halpern, Laura Hurtado-Webb

Thank You Volunteers!

DECEMBER YAHRZEITS3 Ruth Jaffe Farber4 Earl Bean4 Rose Packer4 Dallas Cline5 Charles Friedman6 Harry Robinson6 Karen "Rosemary" Snyder7 Minnie Cohn7 Martha Stein Adelson9 Lenore Greene11 Esther Blatt Blustein12 George Hoffman12 Esther Reiner13 Kathryn Dole13 Sidney Shapiro14 Sidney Schwartz14 Richard Schneider16 Evelyn Bean Bercovitz17 Ted Strange18 Rosemary Coufal19 C. William Chappell

20 Michael Brocha20 Pearl Rubin20 Margaret Barnes21 Helene Grossman22 Drew Kaufman22 Iris Karger22 John Meidinger22 Albert Tenenbaum23 Arthur WEiss23 Helen Stein23 Ron Stein24 Roberta Nelson24 Jeremiah Ruben26 Abraham Wirth26 Jacob Blatt28 Shirley Hacken29 Joanne Royer30 William Schrager30 Henry Matis31 Billie Wolf Hanig31 Patricia Marie Greene31 Goldie M Reiner

These names will be read from the bimah at Shabbat services before and after the yahrzeit. Bold type denotes those inscribed on a plaque on our Memorial Wall. Please send any corrections and

addtions to the Yahrzeit listings to tbh@bethhatfiloh.org!

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!Jacqueline David & Lisa DavidHeather Rudich & Joshua ReynoldsMelissa Meade and Mike GregoryMichelle & Andrew GainesAmanda EatonMelanie IsraelJudith Rubin & Sharon FernaneSarah PeaceSusan & Rich TuttleIsaac Jennings & Joshua AndersonCarol McLaughlinAkiva ErizimElana UtpadelHelene HuttMelanie MatthewsLaura Neal

Sanctuary FundRobert GodwinThe United Churches

Sustaining FundSuzie Alexander in memory of Eva WallestonWilliam CaslarThomas CourtsYaela Ettlinger in honor of the Ettlinger/ Cavendish family, former grateful members of the TBH communityHilarie Hauptman in memory of Alice KinbergFrank Herman in memory of Alice KinbergMark KaufmanAutumn & Paul PickettMarv & Mary-Lynne ReinerEdith Rutel in memory of Alice Kinberg

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS

A/V UpgradesPaul Goldberg

Arts & CultureLaura SchragerLeslie Goldstein

Goldberg FundEvan & Stacy HirschJulie Waters

High HolidayLisa Goldschmidt

PJ LibraryEvan & Stacy Hirsch

Rabbi's Discretionary FundEvan & Stacy HirschAkiva ErezimDeborah Loomis Julie Waters

Rabbi's Supplemental Compensation FundLeslie GoldsteinLaura & Sam Schrager

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Yes, I want to contribute to the ongoing vitality of Jewish life in Olympia and the South Sound!

Enclosed is my gift of:

$18 $36 $54 $108 $180 $360 Other:______

Check payable to “Temple Beth Hatfiloh” is enclosed.

Visa MasterCard Card #:_____________________________

Sec. Code (Last 3 digits on back of card):_________ Exp. Date:_________

Donor name: _____________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________

City/State/Zip: ___________________________________________

Phone: __________________________________________________

Email: __________________________________________________

Your gift is tax deductible. Thank you for your generosity.

This gift is In honor of In memory of Wishing speedy recovery to With thanks to On yartzeit of ____________________________________________________________________________________

Please send a notification of this gift to:

Name: ____________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________

City/State/Zip: ______________________________________________ Donations, without amounts, will be acknowledged in TBH publications. Please mark if this is an ANONYMOUS donation:

This gift is for High Holidays TBH Sustaining Fund Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund Goldberg Scholarship Fund Building Strength Maintenance Endowment See above for fund descriptions. High Holiday and other undesignated donations will be applied to the Sustaining Fund.

Available Funds

Temple Beth Hatfiloh Sustaining FundSupports the general operations of TBH and a variety of programs including educational opportunities, holiday celebrations, libraries and the music program.

Rabbi’s Discretionary FundUsed, at Rabbi’s discretion, to provide individual or institutional support as needed.

Goldberg Fund (School Scholarships)Supports the TBH youth education program.

Building Strength Maintenance EndowmentSupports the maintenance of TBH’s physical home.

TEMPLE BETH HATFILOH is a community center for Jewish life. We are dedicated to meeting the spiritual, educational, cultural and social needs of the Jewish community in Olympia and the surrounding South Sound area.

It is only through your generosity that we are able to sustain our programs, provide for those in need, maintain our Jewish home and ensure a Jewish presence for generations yet to come.

Every gift, no matter the size, is important and contributes to our Jewish community.

Visit www.smile.amazon.com and type "Temple Beth Hatfiloh" into the "pick your own charitable organization" search box.

Each time you shop Amazon, please visit www.smile.amazon.com.

To make donations, contact the CFD at (360) 902-4162 or cfd@sos.wa.gov.Temple Beth Hatfiloh, Charity Code 1478808

Over the last 20 years, Melaleuca fundraising proceeds have raised

over $20,000 for TBH! The Melaleuca line features 400 alternative for items you may already be using every day.

For information, contact the TBH office.www.melaleuca.com

Happy BirthdayYom Huledet Sameach

Mandi JenkinsMartin BardStephen HodesLaura Hurtado-WebbJudith RubinCarl WolfhagenMichael LowskyDaniel AsherSusan PoplackRuby Stein-CitrinSara Eve SarlikerFrank HermanGary Franklin

2337999101014141516

Benjamin KrasnokutskyMark WeissAlan KamenKassie KoledinMichael BlumDiana SchwartzEric SteinJoe PuchotPaul AligJoceile MooreJacqueline DavidEmmett Gross

171819202023252527272930

Norma and I moved to Olympia immedi-ately after graduate school at the U.W. We moved with our very young family as our daughter, Heather, was only 14 months old. Norma began what would become a 28 year teaching career at St. Martin’s Univer-sity and I took on a very small non-profit called Community Youth Services where I remained for 36 years. Being new to town, we immediately found TBH with its 45 families and dove into helping the Temple grow and prosper. Norma along with our friends Beth Halpern and Gail Wish developed and taught in the Sunday school and I later served several terms on the board. Then, Marv Reiner and I chaired the capital campaign that bought and added on to the Temple. Eva Goldberg served our honorary chair and trusted advisor. TBH served as an anchor tethering us to the past while providing ample opportu-nities to expand our spiritual, friendship and social justice horizons. Heather grew up and had her Bat Mitzvah, then wedding. Prior to retirement, Norma and I got serious about our estate plan-ning. We were resolute in leaving a legacy to institutions that have meant so much to us. As a result, we are proud to have designated TBH as one of the beneficiaries of our estate. We are comforted in that our legacy gift along with 50 other legacy gifts TBH members have made will ensure that future generations enjoy a positive com-munity filled with meaningful services and programs that will ensure a vibrant Jewish community in the greater Olympia area.

To learn more about TBH's LIFE & LEGACY opportunities, please contact Charles Shelan at cshelan@comcast.net.

LIFE & LEGACYTM SPOTLIGHT: Norma & Charles Shelan